World War II Croatian political figure. He is considered the "mastermind" of the Holocaust in Croatia, leading to the deaths of 600,000 to 1 million Jews, Serbs, Roma and others. He was a lawyer and founder in 1929 of the Ustase movement, their sole purpose being an independent Croatia. It was developed after imposition of the Royal Dictatorship in Yugoslavia in 1929. Pavelic went abroad, first to Austria and then Italy where he was provided with training camps and afforded protection by the Fascist Italian government. The first order of business was the assassination of Serbian King Alexander in 1934. Following the Nazi invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia in 1941, Pavelic was proclaimed Poglavnik (head) of Croatia by the occupying Germans. A harsh Ustase plan for purification of the country was implemented. Concentration camps were established to house the many arrests and a reign of terror followed. After the collapse of the puppet state, Pavelic escaped to Austria and then to Italy where the Vatican shielded accused war criminals from arrest and shuttled them out of Europe to safety. He arrived in Argentina and immediately found work as security advisor to Juan Peron. An attempt on his life in 1957 left him injured and he fled to Franco's Spain where he died after being admitted to the German Hospital in Madrid. The cause of his death was related to his injuries received in Buenois Aires.
World War II Croatian political figure. He is considered the "mastermind" of the Holocaust in Croatia, leading to the deaths of 600,000 to 1 million Jews, Serbs, Roma and others. He was a lawyer and founder in 1929 of the Ustase movement, their sole purpose being an independent Croatia. It was developed after imposition of the Royal Dictatorship in Yugoslavia in 1929. Pavelic went abroad, first to Austria and then Italy where he was provided with training camps and afforded protection by the Fascist Italian government. The first order of business was the assassination of Serbian King Alexander in 1934. Following the Nazi invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia in 1941, Pavelic was proclaimed Poglavnik (head) of Croatia by the occupying Germans. A harsh Ustase plan for purification of the country was implemented. Concentration camps were established to house the many arrests and a reign of terror followed. After the collapse of the puppet state, Pavelic escaped to Austria and then to Italy where the Vatican shielded accused war criminals from arrest and shuttled them out of Europe to safety. He arrived in Argentina and immediately found work as security advisor to Juan Peron. An attempt on his life in 1957 left him injured and he fled to Franco's Spain where he died after being admitted to the German Hospital in Madrid. The cause of his death was related to his injuries received in Buenois Aires.
Bio by: Paul S.
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